Brexit: Britain will not rejoin EU or set up customs union, Starmer’s top negotiator warns
The minister tasked with resetting Britain’s relationship with Brussels ruled out a customs union with the bloc and said he did not believe Britain would ever return to the EU.
European affairs minister Nick Thomas-Symonds said ahead of his speech in Brussels on Monday. Independent There is “no desire” to return to past discussions on EU membership.
Although Thomas-Symonds insists the government wants to develop even closer ties with the European Union, she has ruled out any deal that would see the UK and the EU enter a customs union, especially as the world becomes a more dangerous place.
Even a special version, such as the bloc’s agreements with countries such as Türkiye and Norway, was unlikely, he said.
In December, 13 Labor MPs rebelled and supported a Liberal Democrat bill to rejoin the customs union that was passed in the House of Commons.
Mr Thomas-Symonds likened the idea of pledging a customs union to the infamous Vote Leave bus carrying a message about extra funding for the NHS.
“We will not have a customs union. We will never go back to the days when promises were made that could not be fulfilled in the name of red buses.”
His comments come ahead of chancellor Rachel Reeves’ major speech on Brexit on Tuesday, in which she will “make the positive case” for closer alignment between the UK and the EU.
He said: “We must make it clear that harmony is not a dirty word.”
The cabinet office has confirmed it hopes to have a new deal on food, drink and youth movement in time for the 10th anniversary of the EU referendum on 23 June.
But when asked whether the UK would one day return to the EU, he said: Independent: “I don’t see that and I don’t see us returning to the debates of the past.
“What we’ve always done about this is look forward. As I talk to people all over the country on a weekly basis, I get the sense that it supports the closer relationship we’ve already established and are building.”
“And I think there is no desire to reopen the debate.”
The comments will be disappointing to Labor colleagues and others who want closer ties with the bloc.
Senior figures speaking in favor of a customs union with the EU include deputy prime minister David Lammy, who said in December that countries in such unions were seeing an improvement in their economies.
Mr Lammy said it was “obvious” that Brexit would be economically damaging and stressed that Türkiye was seeing growth as a result of its own union with the bloc.
Weeks later, health secretary Wes Streeting also called for deeper trade relations between the UK and the EU, in comments suggesting he would be open to rejoining a customs union with the bloc.
But Mr Thomas-Symonds insisted the UK/EU reset so far was “already a big deal” and “driven by British national interests” worth £9bn to the economy, and warned he would be put at risk by Nigel Farage’s Reform or Kemi Badenoch’s Conservatives if they come to power and go ahead with their plans to rip up the deals.
The EU is negotiating heavy penalty clauses in case a future UK government backs out of reset agreements negotiated to tie them together.
But he acknowledged there were challenges.
One of the key areas he is talking about is ensuring the UK is included in the EU’s “made in Europe” regulations, which could affect car manufacturers such as Nissan, particularly in the north-east of England.
But he said the UK government was “working day after day, week after week” to ensure British manufacturers were not left out.
“The UK and the EU face very similar challenges going forward. We seek to deliver growth on both sides of the Channel, which is central to this government’s mission. Placing trade barriers between us will only lead to mutual harm. It is not in the interests of either side.”
